Henry Jarvis Raymond

Notable work and positions

The New York Times - founder and first editor and chief proprietor (1851-1869)
New York Tribune - associate editor
New York Courier and Enquirer - journalist
U.S. House of Representatives - member, 1865-1867
Republican National Committee - chairman, 1864-1866

Biography

Henry Jarvis Raymond (January 24, 1820 - June 18, 1869) was an American journalist and politician who founded The New York Times and served as its first editor and chief proprietor from 1851 until his death. Born on a farm near Lima, New York, he graduated from the University of Vermont in 1840 and began his journalistic career under Horace Greeley, working on the weekly New Yorker and, from 1841 to 1848, the daily New York Tribune. He also worked as a journalist and associate editor for James Watson Webb's New York Courier and Enquirer. In 1851, together with George Jones, Raymond founded the New York Daily Times (renamed The New York Times in 1857), positioning it as a more measured alternative to the sensational, highly partisan papers of the era. Raymond was simultaneously active in politics: he helped found the Republican Party, wrote its 1856 "Address to the People" of party principles, chaired the Republican National Committee from 1864 to 1866, and served a term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1865 to 1867. He also served earlier as speaker of the New York State Assembly and as lieutenant governor of New York. He died of a stroke in New York City in 1869 and is buried in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery.

Career highlights

• Founding The New York Times 1851 · Co-founded the New York Daily Times with George Jones, establishing what became one of the most influential newspapers in the United States.
• The Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln Derby and Miller, 1865 · Campaign biography of Abraham Lincoln.
• Republican Party co-founder 1856 · Authored the "Address to the People" adopted at the party's founding convention in Pittsburgh.